


Signs of Growth

by acrimsondaisy



Category: The Blank Rune
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Nonbinary Lesbian Arna, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 14:35:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29902575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acrimsondaisy/pseuds/acrimsondaisy
Summary: Arna comes to Lexa with a request.
Relationships: Lexa Reynolds/Arna Kokkimas
Kudos: 2





	Signs of Growth

“Can I look now?”

Lexa didn't quite know how to interpret the question. In front of her, Arna, her certified best friend of all time, partner in crime, and badass extraordinaire, was fluttering their eyelids ever so slightly, trying to peak between their lashes. Their cheeks were puffed in impatience and general poutiness and yet they still struggled to sit still for her, tapping their fingertips on their thigh.

They looked absolutely adorable, Lexa decided then.

“Not yet! But don't worry I'm almost done,” Lexa quietly put down her scissors and brushed a few errant hairs from Arna's shirt. It was almost perfect, it just needed one last finishing touch.

Time for the razor.

Lexa felt the weight of it in her hands. This wasn't the first time she handled it, of course. She had plenty of practice with her brother's hair and she liked to think she's gotten pretty good at it, too.

Still, there was a hesitation that simply wasn't there whenever Skipio asked her for his monthly trim. She _really_ didn't want to mess this one up.

Sure, she had a lot of experience, and sure, the hair would grow back, but just... she wanted Arna to look into the mirror and feel joy, maybe even pride. She wanted them to love it!

Earlier, when she had come to her, Arna had looked so lost, so nervous, almost insecure. That wasn't the kind of look she was used to seeing on her bestie's face and not one that she wanted to take lasting effect there. And so, she had put her hands to her hips and demanded to know who had put them in such a sorry state and who Lexa had to go and deliver a good kick in the ass to.

But then, Arna had bitten their lip and asked if she could cut their hair and make it really short. They hadn't requested a pixie cut, either, but instead, had quietly shown her a picture of a style that looked much sharper than that.

At first, Lexa had reacted with surprise – Arna had never seemed to her like someone who cared all too much about what they looked like, let alone about hair or fashion trends. Still, there was an undeniable earnestness about them. It didn't take a genius to recognize just how serious Arna was about this, and how much it would have devastated them to be questioned or made fun of.

So Lexa had sat them down in her room, preparing every tool that she could possibly need, and told them to close their eyes. She wanted this to be a surprise, for Arna to open their eyes for the first time again and find in the mirror a reflection entirely transformed, showing her exactly who they wanted to be.

And so she had brushed and cut, parted and cared for Arna's hair as carefully, delicately, and deliberately as she did her own – well, maybe not exactly like her own. After all, she knew without having to be told, that Arna wanted to achieve a much more masculine look than the one they were donning right now, which Lexa before she had been more informed on such matters, used to think of as quite tomboyish.

And even though she had expected it to look nice – Arna was always super cute, even if they didn't know about it – but still, she marveled at just how _good_ it looked on her best friend. It was almost like when she was cutting out fabric to better tailor her clothes, every piece of what she removed revealing more of the final form, more of what she had apparently been blind to before.

The pout of Arna's lip, the roundness of their cheeks. Their strong, even jaw, the kind that could make your knees limp with just one glance, Lexa imagined it cutting her hand if she tried to touch it, and yet, somehow, the thought only made the image more enticing. All these traits shone in a new light now. Lexa was tempted to draw the moment out, to take her in, now that she was finally seeing them.

But she didn't want to make them wait any longer. Arna had extended quite enough patience, and quite frankly, so had she. Even more, than she wanted to stare at them, she was desperate to see Arna's reaction – just as part of her was terrified of it.

And so she powered up the razor and with a gentle touch to Arna's cheek, guided their head into ever so slightly leaning away from her. First to one side and then to the other.

Neither of them said anything at all and Lexa felt herself holding her breath, almost automatically, to keep every move she made perfectly controlled. Only when she was done and she looked over her handiwork to make sure that it was accurate did she allow herself to exhale and lean back ever so slightly.

With a damp towel, Lexa softly wiped over Arna's head, doing her best to wipe away any errant hairs and style the rest of it into shape.

“All done!” she announced proudly, “You can open-”

Before she could finish speaking, Arna cut her off, already racing to the full-length mirror in the room, sitting down in front of it to finally examine the changes. Lexa wasted no time in joining them, kneeling next to them so that she could gauge her reaction, but it was hard to catch a glimpse.

“And? Do you like it?”

What if she's messed up completely and Arna hated it? What if Arna would feel ugly now and blame it on Lexa? Or what if she had hurt their feelings?

With every moment that passed, Lexa's heartbeat fastened, her lips started to quiver and the silence of the room was threatening to drown her. _She was not going to cry, she was not going to cry, she was not going to cry._ Maybe if she repeated this line enough times, it would end up being true.

Arna's head turned to face her and Lexa could see their eyes glistening with barely held back tears. In a panic, without giving herself time to think about what she was doing, Lexa reached out to grab her hand, forceful and desperate, with sweat coating the inside of her palm.

Suddenly, air was escaping her, fleeing from her lungs as Lexa desperately tried to catch in short, shallow gasps. Her heart was fluttering desperately, like the wings of a sparrow, trapped in tar, as the world darkened around her, eyes squinting shut as her own tears started to escape.

A sudden pressure around her shoulders, a warm weight against her chest. Perplexed, she opened her eyes. Confusion flooded through her. Arna's head was buried against her shoulder, their arms wrapped around Lexa's waist. Arna was hugging her, she realized.

She let out a breath and instinctively, hugged her back. Even if she had no idea what was happening or how they felt at that moment, this action was right. Anything else could wait.

Around her, Arna was warm and soft and Lexa found that she fit perfectly in their arms, even as they clutched her and their fingernails dug themselves into the skin of her arm.

Huh. Guess they were even now.

After a little while, Arna let go and looked up at her, their lids red and puffy.

“Thank you,” they breathed.

“What for?” Lexa furrowed her brow, “Arna... are you okay?”

What followed was a sudden laugh. Arna grinning as they wiped their tears with the back of their hand.

“Better than okay. I feel... fucking great,” they said, “I don't know how you did it, Lexy, but you finally made me look like me.”

Lexa's brows knit together in confusion and she was just about to open her mouth and ask what they meant by that when she stopped to really look at Arna.

They were radiant.

There was a glow, a health, an alertness to their face that felt new, that felt exciting. Before today, Lexa would have never thought to describe Arna as holding back from themselves or being excessively uncomfortable, but as soon as she saw them now, with their shoulders slacked and an easy, open smile gracing their features, what they had said suddenly made sense. Arna looked and home and that was... well, it was a change.

And so Lexa tossed her own hair over her shoulder and offered them a flirty little grin.

“That's what I call a glow-up!”

Another laugh, but this time, Lexa could swear that it was filled with relief. In an almost casual motion, Arna leaned into her, steadying themselves on her shoulder. At first, she startled, blood rushing to her face at how naturally Arna hat initiated the physical contact. Couldn't they see what they were doing to her? Were they just trying to get a rise out of her?

But then, she glanced again at their expression. Happy and serene, a soft smile on her face.

And that was all it took. Suddenly, all Lexa wanted to do was hold her.

And so she did.


End file.
